Springtime Hearts
by Renegadecat
Summary: Marluxia is a simple flower shop owner who's not relenting to the pressures of a building company that desperately wants the land. When they send their best man Vexen in to take care of it neither of them expected to get along, let alone fall in love!
1. Chapter 1

**This story is finished, though it's only four chapters. While it does not contain any sexual situations it does hint at a homosexual relationship, if you're not into that sort of thing DON'T READ THIS STORY! Marluxia, Vexen, Xaldin and any other KH members mentioned are not mine but Tobi and other supporting characters are (as is the plot!) Please enjoy!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Nestled somewhere on 7th Street, between a bakery and an antiques shop, right across the street from a bookstore stood Petals. Every morning a young man with vivid pink hair would arrive and unlock the door, at least an hour before everyone else. He would turn on his record player and smile as the soft classical music surrounded him and his flowers. He would then take off his coat and replace it with a worn, dingy and soil covered apron. Not that it did any good because by the end of the day the young man's jeans and t-shirt would also be covered in dirt, dust and soil. 

He would stand at his counter for a moment, just looking straight ahead before snapping out of some kind of reverie. From there he'd pull his hair back into a sloppy ponytail and tie a bandana around his head to keep the dirt from it. He looked quite cute when he did that, especially when he smiled. His name was Marluxia but everyone called him Marly, and he'd inherited Petals from his late grandmother last year. Most thought he'd just sell the place but they were surprised when he not only showed up to run the shop, but slowly nurtured it into one of the most popular flower shops in the city. 

Now however business was going south and Marly suspected that it had something to do with the developer that wanted to tear down this old block and erect condos. Everyone else had been given offers that they couldn't really refuse and moved their businesses elsewhere. Only Petals, the bakery, the bookstore and the antique store stood strong against the developer. To them it wasn't about the money, it was about the building and the community. Half the street was empty and cold when only six months ago it was a busy shopping metropolis. 

Marly finally sighed as he began to finish his daily ritual. He watered all the flowers, humming all the while to the record spinning on the needle and prepared an arrangement for the nice woman that owned the bookstore across the street with her husband. It was strange, Marly thought, that they had moved in there just when everyone was moving out, but they were nice enough and the woman was going to have a child soon. Marly turned red with embarrassment, he was always so jealous when he saw her and her husband together because they seemed so happy and in love. He wanted to fall in love like that too, but all his previous boyfriends turned out to be abusive assholes so he was a tad skittish now when it came to relationships. 

When he began to smell wonderful things from next door seeping through his walls he knew it was time to not only open, but to score some free food. In return he brought with him another arrangement he'd made the night before. He and the bakery owner would talk for a few moments while Marluxia ate a pastry then bid each other good day and prospers sales. Next Marly would take a bouquet of flowers to the older woman next door who was just opening shop. She would smile and accept them because they were always tulips (her favorite flowers) and give him advice that he didn't exactly need but he accepted it with a smile nonetheless. 

Finally at nine in the morning it would be time to open. He'd turn his deadbolt key and prop his door open with a large tub of potted flowers, just begging people to stop by and see. He usually didn't get customers until ten but he opened early so that he and the bookshop owner could talk for awhile without being interrupted when she opened at nine as well. 

So imagine Marly's surprise when right after he opens and straightens after adjusting his potted door holder he comes face to face with a very nicely dressed man holding a briefcase. "Oh! Um…good morning sir, welcome to Petals, what can I do for you?" Marly smiled as he backed into his shop. The man did not look pleased and Marly was suddenly scared that he'd bought some flowers and they'd died. 

"Marluxia LeVine?" the man demanded in a deeper, huskier voice than his own modest tenor. 

"Uh, yes, that's me…who are you?" he asked, now extremely puzzled. The man looked incredulous for a moment. Marluxia frowned.

"Forgive the surprise Mr. LeVine I was expecting a woman…is your hair pink?" he suddenly asked, focusing on a wisp that had earlier escaped from his ponytail. Marluxia lifted a hand and protectively shielded it. 

"Yes! What does that matter?" he groused. 

"Sorry, I've never seen anyone with pink hair before," the man stuttered, obviously thrown off by this whole twisted situation. Marly frowned at him once more and turned to busy himself with other things. The man cleared his throat and set down his case on the counter. "I apologize for my rudeness Mr. LeVine but I am Vexen Caulfield, from the -,"

"I know where you're from," Marly suddenly snapped. "I guess they figured that I wasn't interested in all those short skirted bimbos they sent before so they sent a man, gee, that's clever," he groused as he moved around his counter to continue arranging flowers in a vase. 

Vexen wasn't even going to confirm that little nugget of perceptibility. "Listen, Mr. LeVine, Chronos Company is more than willing to pay you the full amount and over for your land, that goes the same for your neighbors as well!" he began to speak. Marluxia ignored him but nodded once in awhile so the man kept talking. He was obviously an important man, Chronos Company was known for sending their female employees out into the field to get sales because they were good at it. For them to send a man, and obviously one that thought a lot of himself and his opinions, the four of them here must be a big problem indeed.

He nodded again before he began studying Vexen Caulfield. He was tall, probably only a few inches taller than Marly himself, but he was more filled out in the shoulder area. Marly knew he was just a lanky beanpole. Still he had a decent body, not very muscular, but he wasn't storing any extra fat. Vexen's hair was what intrigued him. It was long like his, but blonde. He too had it tied back into a professional ponytail but it somehow added to his look of distinction. His face was also very angular, with a sharp chin and high cheekbones, but Marly thought it suited him. 

"Mr. LeVine are you listening?" Vexen Caulfield sighed. 

"Hm? Oh yes, well no, actually I was ignoring you because I have no interest in selling my shop." He said as he walked further into his back workshop and easily plucked up a metal tub sloshing about with water. He set it down on a scarred wooden table and dusted his hands off. 

"Mr. LeVine!" Vexen began.

"Mr. Caulfield!" Marly roared back. "See I can play that game too," he winked before he picked up a bale of tissue paper that had fallen off the counter earlier that morning. "Anyway, I told you before I have no interest in selling my shop. It's been in my family for generations and I don't want that part of our history to be torn down. Besides, there is absolutely no reason to tear down any of these buildings. If you build your condo's the view will be crappy, the market value will decrease and you'll have spent billions of dollars building a place where no one wants to be. All these buildings were up to code before Chronos started buying them and forcing people out, the neighborhood wasn't a slum or abandoned like it is now. If you ask me this just adds to all those rumors that Chronos Company just likes to drive out the hard working families." He noticed how red Vexen was turning. Then Marluxia realized something. He reached behind the counter and pulled out a pamphlet on Chronos Company that another sales woman had given him. Flipping through it briefly he alighted on a picture of the owner and began laughing. 

"Oh my gawd you're the Vexen Caulfield, that's great! You're the owner of Chronos Company! That is the awesome, listen up and listen well, I don't want your money, I don't want to sell my shop. If you ever come in here again, I will personally throw my heaviest vase at you and it will hurt…a lot." He threatened. Vexen turned red with anger and took a breath to begin berating him for his insolence (no doubt) when a chuckle sounded from the doorway. "Oh hello Mrs. Wiater! How are you this morning?" he asked. 

"Oh I'm fine thanks Marly, who's this?" asked the small, pregnant woman who sported long chocolate brown hair and warm matching eyes. 

"I'm Vexen Caulfield ma'am and I was here today to try and persuade-,"

"He's the asswipe that wants our land." Marluxia stated in layman's terms to the bookshop owner. She twittered at his vernacular and the fact that once more, Vexen Caulfield was speechless and beet red. 

"Well Mr. Caulfield I'm sure that Marly has explained to you that we are still uninterested in selling," she smiled as she accepted the arrangement from Marly. "But still, for the owner himself to come down here to explain the situation, you must want this land an awful lot…" she sighed as she began waddling towards the door. 

"Tobi!" her husband's voice shouted at her from across the street as he rushed over to take the arrangement. "How many times have I told you not to carry heavy things?" he scolded. 

"Oh stop it Xaldin, it's not that heavy at all! And the baby won't get hurt!" she huffed indignantly. 

"Let me worry about you alright?" Xaldin smiled before kissing her forehead, which was quite easy since the small woman only came to middle of his chest. "Hello there Marly, who's this guy?" Xaldin suddenly asked, staring at Vexen. 

"Vexen Caulfield, he wants our land." Marly explained.

"Like hell!" was all Xaldin said on the matter before escorting his wife back to the shop. 

"How long have they been married?" Vexen suddenly asked.

"I don't know…few years I guess, I guess they just got out of a rough spot a few months ago and now they're having kids. Tobi said that they're just running the bookstore until her child is born then they're going back to live where her husband is a college meteorology professor." Marly shrugged. "Why?"

"Oh…no reason, she just reminded me of my late wife." Vexen found himself saying before he could stop himself. 

"Oh I'm sorry, how did she die?" Marly asked sympathetically. 

"Car accident, she was hit by a drunk driver…killed her and my little boy," he sighed suddenly. He looked pointedly at Marluxia and narrowed his eyes. "So you won't sell this land to me, no matter what?" he demanded. 

"No matter what." Marluxia agreed. 

"We'll see about that," Vexen smirked as he exited the store. 

Marluxia, appropriately got the chills. 


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

A whole week passed before Marluxia saw Vexen Caulfield again and when he did, he certainly didn't expect to see what he saw.

"Well?" Vexen demanded as he stood dressed in designer jeans and a nice polo shirt.

"Well what?" Marly croaked. 

"I want a job, here, at this shop, maybe I'll discover why on earth you want to keep it so badly." He snapped. 

"How much do you know about flowers?" Marly demanded.

"Nothing." Was the reply. 

"Oh yeah, you'll be a huge help," Marly rolled his eyes. "Look I can't afford to hire another person so if you want to work here you'll be dirt poor!" Marly warned him as he easily hefted a large bag of fertilizer on the waist level counter in the back. 

"Oh gee, I'm so poor as it is," Vexen whined in a ridiculous high-pitched voice. 

"You're such an asshole," Marly snapped. 

"Yeah and you're delusional if you think that you won't sell out to me, they all do in the end…" Vexen predicted.

"Well, they were probably seduced by your pretty little secretaries."

"Yes well we've already established that you don't like women do you?" Vexen tried to hurt his pride, but Marly merely smiled. 

"Damn straight, women scare me." 

"What about Mrs. Wiater across the street and Mrs. Coggins next door?" Vexen demanded.

"Well for one, one is married to the biggest guy EVER and two, the other's an old lady that wouldn't even hurt a fly. Besides she reminds me of my grandmother," he muttered. 

"Were you guys close?" Vexen asked softly, noting the sudden sorrow that wracked the younger man's shoulders. That was odd in itself; he'd gone all quiet and concerned when Vexen told him about his late wife and son. For someone who professed to hate his guts with his body language he was awfully sweet.

"Yeah, I used to love coming here when everything was busy and I was so happy to finally be apart of that when she left me the store. It came at the right moment too, I just got out of an abusive relationship and I needed to just leave. This was perfect. I make enough to pay the rent on my little apartment down the street and I walk everywhere to save money. The problem is that if, somehow you do take over all these buildings even the money you'll pay me won't be enough to open a new shop somewhere else and if I just continue to live off of it and pay my rent it'll eventually be all gone and I'll have to get a job in another flower shop or something…but they don't know anything about flowers…" he sighed as he turned and gently caressed one of the largest roses Vexen had ever seen. And was it his imagination or did the flower turn towards the other's hand and rub it affectionately? Vexen closed his eyes and shook his head. 

"Abusive relationship? I can't imagine you putting up with that sort of nonsense," Vexen sniffed.

Marluxia just smiled softly. "Normally I wouldn't but…when it's so subtle that you don't realize what it is until it's too late and then you feel so bad about yourself that you think no one else is going to love you, it's hard. In fact I have to remind myself every day that I hate his guts, just so I don't call him and tell him I want him back." He shook his head and thumbed his fist a few times on the table next to him. 

"I'm sorry," Vexen muttered, feeling bad about prying into the young florists past. 

"Nah, it's fine, Mrs. Wiater asked me the same thing when I got here and I was able to cry it all out with her, so it's easier to talk about now," he trailed off and shrugged. "Alright fine, you can work here for me, I'll show you just how important this place is to me and these people and you'll realize that it's a big mistake to tear this place down!" Marly told him, suddenly full of energy and life. 

"Alright what should I do first?" Vexen asked. 

"Put on that apron over there and help me move this potting soil!" Marly ordered.

"This is a lot of soil Mr. LeVine, I thought you just put flowers in water?" 

"Oh ye of little knowledge, I grow flowers out back, Mrs. Coggins and Mr. Yates let me tear down the fence back there so I could use their unused back spaces. Come here I'll show you. And don't call me Mr. LeVine, I'm too young for that, it's either Marly or Marluxia." 

"Uh sure…" Vexen managed to spit out before he followed the florist into the small back hallway and through a wooden screen door that had seen better days. When they emerged into the sunshine Vexen stood there shocked. The whole backyard was lined with planters and brimming over the tops with flowers, vines, buds, bulbs and ferns. The grass beneath his feet was lush and green and dotted with clumps of dandelions and tulips. "Uh, Marly this is…"

"Incredible? Yeah I know!" he smiled as he reached down to pick up a watering can. "Here, you water all of these plants and I'll see you back inside!" he smiled before heading back into the store_. "Ha! That should keep him busy and out of my way!"_ he thought triumphantly. 

Vexen stood there perplexed. How could this many flowers be growing here?

"He's got a green thumb that boy," Mrs. Coggins the antique shop owner chuckled as she hobbled outside to sit in a worn but comfortable looking rocker. "I love what he's done back here, Granny LeVine was good at growin' but nothin' like her grandson, no way," the elderly woman shook her grey head, her soft southern accent adding life to her words. 

"How long did it take him to grow all this?" Vexen asked, still watering the multitude of plants.

"Well a few months after he took over, I noticed that there was a lot of green coming over the fence and that day little Marly came and asked if he could tear down the fence and continue his gardenin'. He told he he'd pay me two hundred dollars a month for the space but I wouldn't let him, yet…every month I find a two hundred dollar check in my mailbox. I realized it was futile to argue with him when he ignored me when I came to return it. Mr. Yates next door did the same thing. So every month we go down and cash those checks and put the money somewhere safe for Marly." Here she stopped and looked square at Vexen.

"I know it's futile to think that eventually we're gonna win this battle, I've already got enough money to retire comfortably and Mr. Yates does too. And that young couple across the street, well there's no way they're hurtin' for money. That girl down there's the daughter of some foreign king. Nice kids though." She rocked back and forth gently now, sighing a few times before she looked at him again. "We just want Marly to be happy here, he's worked so hard to turn this place around…it's a shame though…" she sighed.

"What's a shame?" Vexen demanded, now totally engrossed in her story. 

"I think you and Marly look cute togetha', it's a shame that he don't like you," she grinned before standing up once more. "Well have fun watering these plants, don't forget the corners!" she laughed as she hobbled back inside her store. 

-----

Marluxia was getting ready to close when Vexen finally emerged from the backyard, sweating, dirty and covered in grass stains. "Wow, that was fast!" Marluxia teased as he was given the dirtiest look known to man, in fact he was sure his hair was on fire. 

"Do I have to do that everyday?" he muttered.

"No, I just wanted to see if you'd actually do it, welcome aboard Vexen!" he smiled clapping the older man on the back. 

"I hate you," he snapped irritably. 

"Feeling's mutual, now I expect you here at nine sharp!" he reminded him as he pushed him out the front door and slammed it. 

Vexen was on the verge of shouting something nasty through the door when soft, womanly giggling made him turn around. Across the street stood Xaldin and his wife, locking up for the night and the large man was again scolding his wife for overexerting herself.

"Oh hello Mr. Caulfield, what are you doing over there?" Mrs. Wiater asked. 

"Um…just..uh…"

"He's workin' for Marly now!" Mrs. Coggins called from her front stoop as she too, closed for the evening. "Now huney don't stand out here in the cold without your coat on your baby's gonna kick you more!" she advised as Xaldin dropped his wife's coat around her shoulders. 

"Thank you Mrs. Coggins!" Xaldin shouted at her as he looped a protective arm around his small wife and they too began walking away. Vexen looked behind him as Mr. Yates exited his store and waved goodbye to him before crossing the street to take one of the trolleys back home. 

"You're still here? I thought you'd have run far away by now!" Marluxia teased as he exited the shop and locked it firmly. He was still wearing his dirty jeans and t-shirt and his hair was still pulled back, but without it's protective bandanna covering he looked like any twenty-something trying to make a living. 

"My driver's not here yet." Vexen sighed. 

"You have a driver? Man you're spoiled, well which way is he supposed to come?" Marly looked around. 

"From down there," Vexen pointed.

"Well I have to go that way and just to make sure that you don't get lost like a little child I'll walk with you until we find your driver, how's that?" 

"I'm not a child!" Vexen snapped. 

"Sure princess, wanna hold my hand?" Marly teased. 

"Shut up!" Vexen seethed. They fell silent after that but he could still hear Marluxia chuckling under his breath. What was wrong with him lately? He was known for his cold glares and disinterest in almost everything, how was this kid changing it all? "Act your age!" Vexen added a little bit later. 

"Oh why? 31 is such a stupid age to act," Marly protested. 

"You're not 31!" Vexen argued. Cripes sake he was 35 but everyone thought he was older, how could this kid only be four years younger?

"Sure I am! You can check my birth certificate if you want!" the shorter man shot back. 

"Ugh…" was the only response he got from that. Marly silently preened, maybe if h e annoyed the prick enough he'd just give up and leave. However he seemed to be the only one putting up a fight. He knew that the other shop owners were behind him but he felt like he was the only one actually fighting.

What exactly was he fighting for anyway? A towering piece of brick and steel? A backyard overgrown with every type of flower imaginable? It wasn't as tangible as that. He wanted the memories that it held. He wanted to see visions of himself running around and wreaking havoc on the flowers and his grandmother scolding him. He wanted to see customers smiling and laughing as they enjoyed the simple beauty of a flower. But he could take those memories with him couldn't he? But why was he so unwilling to let them go?

"There's my driver," Vexen finally said to break the silence. A sleek black car had turned around and pulled up to the curb and the driver was waiting for him to enter. "Do you want a ride?" he asked, probably out of formality. 

"No, I'm fine, my apartment is just down there," he said motioning further down the street. 

"Suite yourself," Vexen said as he entered the dark car and vanished behind a black door. 

Marluxia watched as they drove away, why did he lie like that, they'd passed his house five minutes ago. Boy he was a moron….


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Wow, you came back." 

"Shut up and open the door!" Vexen bitched as Marly smirked and opened it for him. "Yes, I told you, I'm working here now, as a study project," Vexen added.

"Right, right, whatever I suppose you could come in handy throughout the day." Marly shrugged. "There's a pastry on the counter for you, it's blueberry, do you like blueberry?" he asked. Vexen was so puzzled by his statement that he could only nod. "Oh good, you seemed like a blueberry person," he smiled. 

Vexen took the pastry and ate it in silence, his observant brown eyes watching Marluxia take quick inventory on certain things before he began restacking a group of pots in the corner. Vexen couldn't help but stare as the tight, jean clad buttocks of the pink haired florist swayed back and forth as he bent to pick up a few things. "You should lift from your legs," he felt it prudent to remind him. 

"And deny you the chance to marvel at my wonderful butt? No way," Marly laughed as he straightened and dusted his hands off. Not for the first time did Vexen blush bright red and glare at the younger man. "Yes, yes I know, you hate me," he rolled his eyes and passed him to work in the back. 

"What are you doing?" Vexen asked when Marly brought up a beautiful arrangement of Tulips, Daffodils and Roses. 

"I make an arrangement every day for Mrs. Wiater. I read somewhere in a baby book that plants help people relax and I figured that if you're preggers you should be the most relaxed person in the world. Besides, she's nice to me and always asks me how I'm doing."

"That's odd you know, I heard she's some foreign princess…" Vexen repeated what Mrs. Coggins had told him.

"She is, except she ditched the princess name when her brother had kids I guess," He shrugged as he continued to arrange the flowers. 

"Oh so her brother is the king now," Vexen nodded.

"Yeah I guess she has quite a bit of family back home too so I don't know why she and her husband moved out here."

"Maybe they like books?" Vexen guessed.

"Egh, books…I don't really like reading. Gives me an unpleasant taste in my mouth," Marly shuddered.

"You read a baby book…" Vexen pointed out.

"I wanted to be prepared to deal with raging pregnant women hormones. It was self defense!" he protested.

"Hi Marly!" Mrs. Wiater smiled as she came through the door. "Mr. Caulfield nice to see you again!" she smiled as she accepted the arrangement. "Gorgeous as always Marly love, thank you!" she beamed as she went back to her store. 

"Her husband must not be in," Vexen commented.

"He probably gave up trying to scold her is more likely." 

"Thanks for the pastry."

"No biggie, come one, let's get workin'!"

-----

A month went by with every day Vexen diligently coming to work at Marluxia's store. He caught on pretty fast when it came to arranging flowers and he got faster at watering the plants outside. He even ran errands for Marluxia when he ran out of certain things. Marly had to admit that he was pretty impressed by the Chronos Company owner and president. But that still worried him. 

"How are you able to run your business if you're always here?" He finally demanded one morning as Vexen finished up his pastry. 

"I work at night, it's fairly easy I'm a pretty organized person, unlike some I could name," he lifted an eyebrow at the already dirty Marly who was busy trying to shove potting soil onto a shelf that was too high for him to reach. 

"Yeah well, I just want to know when you'll just give up and go away!" Marluxia grunted as he finally managed to toss the bag onto the shelf, only to have it come crashing down. 

"Marly!" Vexen shouted as potting soil went everywhere and pots of all shapes and sizes came crashing down around him. When the dust settled enough for him to see Marluxia was standing there dazed with blood trickling from the side of his head. "Holy shit!" Vexen shouted as he grabbed the other man's hand and dragged him closer to the sunlight so he could see how bad the cut was. It wasn't a very deep cut but it was rather large. He found a clean rag under the counter and pressed it to his head and signaling frantically through the window at Xaldin and Tobi.

"Mrs. Coggins!" Tobi was shouting as she made her way quickly across the street. "Mrs. Coggins Marly's been hurt!" she shouted again. 

"Marly's hurt? Nonsense!" Mrs. Coggins was shouting as she came from next door to inspect the damage. Before Vexen knew it he was standing on the outside of a small crowd who was fussing over the injured Marly. Apparently Mrs. Coggins was a retired nurse and Xaldin knew a bit about medicine as well. 

After twenty minutes of coddling the poor man Mrs. Coggins finally turned to Vexen. "I'd advise bed rest, there's a room upstairs he can use, I clean it once in awhile for him, the bedding should be clean anyway," she said as she went back to her store. "I'll check on him before I leave!" she added over her shoulder. 

"Oh, I hope you'll feel better Marly!" Tobi cooed as she ruffled his hair gently. 

"Nah I'll be fine!" Marluxia smiled a little lopsidedly. "Where's Mr. Yates?" he asked. 

"Oh he went back to his shop a few minutes ago, he said that he hopes you feel better soon too!" Mrs. Wiater smiled. "Now go to bed, Xaldin, let's go!" 

"Um, what should I do about the shop?" Vexen asked as Marly began to climb upstairs. 

"Just close for the day and keep an eye on Marly, would you hun?" Tobi asked. Vexen nodded and in a daze shut and locked the door and flipped the sign to closed. It was only 9:30 in the morning! Sighing he went to the stairway and grabbed a paused Marluxia around the waist. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" Marly demanded.

"Helping you up the stairs by making sure you don't fall, don't freak out!" Vexen ordered as the two of them slowly walked up the rickety stairs to the upstairs room. Mrs. Coggins was correct about the room, it was clean and organized, which meant that Marly probably didn't spend much time here. Vexen tugged down the bedding and helped Marly get into bed. 

"My grandmother used to live up here, I remember it being covered in flowers," Marly yawned before his eyes closed and he fell asleep. 

Vexen looked around and found a chair standing in the corner next to a small table. He brought it back to the bedside with him and wearily sat down. Marly said that he wanted him to quit, but Vexen didn't want to quit. In fact, if he had to be perfectly honest he wanted to quite his other job and stay here with Marluxia. Stupid yes, especially when he knew that if he signed over the company that his second in command would just go through with the deals. 

As Marluxia continued to sleep through the afternoon and after he'd cleaned up the mess from earlier, Vexen looked around the shop, really looked. He began to notice small things here and there that he'd never seen before. Marluxia's name caved under a worn counter, old pictures of him as a child running through the backyard. 

As was the stereotypical scenario Vexen never had that growing up. He loved math and science but that was all he had since his parents were often away on business. As he grew older he thought himself too busy to ever find a perfect mate for himself, and then Julie had come into his life. She was so perfect and kind and sweet and she just made him want to be a better man. They'd had their son a couple years after they were married and it all seemed to be going well. 

Then there had been that car crash. Vexen was supposed to meet them for dinner somewhere and they were running late. It had been raining that day and the roads were slick. Vexen couldn't even finish remembering what happened as he sat on the dirty floor and cried for the first time in five years about it. At first he resented himself because he thought this sort of emotional display was a sign of weakness, wasn't that what his father had always said? But he couldn't help it. After Julie and his son Matt had died he immersed himself in his job and worked mindlessly, like a robot. He pushed his small company to the edge and back, becoming one of the richest men in the world in a matter of a few years. He thought he had it all, he was important, he was rich, he was powerful. He thought he was happy with his life.

Until Marluxia. The realization hit him like a truck, because of Marluxia he looked forward to waking up in the morning and he couldn't sit still to do his work anymore. He wanted to stay here in the flower shop, he wanted to stay here with these people and he wanted to see what this street could be like again. He wanted to make Marly happy. 

Vexen shot to his feet and up the stairs to check on Marluxia before he rushed back downstairs and began making phone calls. 

-----

Marluxia's injury wasn't so bad that he had to stay closed the next day and in a week was back to his usual cheery self. "Vexen! What the hell are you doing?" he'd shout at him when he caught his employee talking to one of the new neighbors. Already a clothing boutique was renovating the space next to the bookstore and the building beside Mr. Yate's bakery was being stocked with little knickknacks as it became a gift shop. And down the way another shop was going in to become a baby store and a music store was going in across from that and even some of his old neighbors were returning. The Coffee Shop was opening next week (they'd just needed to clean off the old equipment and get it serviced.) and the pet shop was cleaning itself out and restocking its shelves. 

"What Marly?" Vexen asked with a huge smile on his face. Marluxia looked hardly pleased. 

"I want to talk to you, alone, in private!" he growled as Vexen walked back in the store. Marly locked the door and turned the sign to closed as they both walked upstairs. 

"What Marly?" Vexen asked again as the two stood facing each other in the upstairs room. 

"What the fuck is going on down there?" he demanded angrily. "What kind of bullshit are you trying to pull?"

"What's bullshit about it Marluxia, I, I changed my mind about the build site, we're moving it another location, one that won't affect anyone or anything!"

"Why would you do that! What about later huh?" 

"What do you mean what about later? I petitioned the city! They're going to make it historical district so no one could ever tear it down!"

"Why did you do it?" Marly finally screamed at him. 

"I did it because I wanted to make you happy!" Vexen roared. "You're the first person since my wife that's made me want to get up in the morning! You broke through the fog around my life! All I think about is you!" Vexen shouted.

"Oh fat chance! Shut up! You said it yourself that you wanted this land! How do I know it's not some sort of trick huh! Why would you do all this for just one person?"

"You want me to say that I did it for the Wiaters? Or Mr. Yates or Mrs. Coggins? I did it for you, because I want you to be happy, because I want you to look at me and smile I did it because…because I love you!" Vexen confessed. 

"GET OUT!" Marluxia shouted as he turned around and ran down the stairs. 

"Marly!" Vexen protested.

"GET OUT I SAID!" He grabbed Vexen by his shirt and with a surprising amount of strength dragged him through the store and threw him out onto the streets. He then proceeded to slam the door and lock in again. Vexen sat there on the sidewalk staring at the door, stricken with grief. Thunder rumbled above the street as small rain droplets began to fall.

"Vexen?" Mrs. Coggins ran out from her shop to help him up. "Are you okay my boy?" she dusted him off. 

"Um yeah…Uh, I guess…I'm gonna go now, I'll see you later, I hope!" he stammered through as he ran down the street as fast as he could. He really was pathetic wasn't he? He thought it would be simple, he thought it would make him happy, but it hadn't worked. Marluxia hated him now, probably more than he had originally.

The terrible thing about it though was that Vexen was fairly certain that he'd never get over it. Shot down just as he took off. This was a terribly cruel world when it wanted to be and the more he thought about it the more his chest hurt. He stopped running when he felt his chest would explode from the pain and as he slumped against an alley wall to cry the sprinkling rain became a torrent of water. He clutched at his chest and sobbed like a child. Sobbed for the love he'd lost, sobbed for the love that wouldn't be returned and sobbed for the love he'd never had again. 

And all the while as he clutched his beating heart he wished it wasn't there, wished he couldn't feel anything, wished it would all go away. But it wouldn't, it just continued to thump insistently, teasingly, reminding him that he was human, and that he would always be human.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"The rain's coming down hard," Tobi remarked to Xaldin as she stiffly rose from her chair and winced from the dull ache in her shoulder. It had never been the same after she'd been shot. 

"I haven't seen Vexen for awhile, what do you think happened to him?" Xaldin asked as he helped her sit down in another chair away from the cold window. Tobi only shrugged. She didn't want to speak about Vexen too much, it was taking all of her wit and wiles to make sure that Xaldin didn't remember them and vice versa. She didn't want Vexen and Marluxia remembering any of the others. It was odd that she felt magnanimous enough to even gift them with hearts but they would never remember the others or the organization. In fact they weren't even supposed to meet but because they had she simply decided to sit back and watch what happened.

Just as she was about to comment on something her husband was doing the door burst open and Marluxia ran in, dripping wet and crying. "Sweetie what's wrong?" Tobi exclaimed as he leaned against the door and slid to the floor. 

"I…I did a b-b-baad-d-d thing!" he wailed. His hair was hanging free around his face, curling pathetically now that it was simply damp instead of soaking. Xaldin tossed him a towel so he could dry himself off. 

"What did you do? Does this have something to do with Vexen?" Tobi asked. The accompanying wail signaled a yes. 

"I was such an idiot he said that he got a new build site and that he was doing all of this to make me happy because he loved me and I threw him out because I was angry!" he cried.

"Why were you angry?" Xaldin drawled.

"Because it's easier to hate him! I mean yeah I was starting to like his company and I really thought we might have good chemistry together and then I realized that he was only trying to get my land and that confused me and then he suddenly pops up with this whole, "lets make this a historic district so no one can touch it," crap and he says he loves me!" Marluxia whimpered and buried his pink head in his knees.

Tobi traded looks with Xaldin and sighed. She slowly struggled to her feet and walked over to him. "Marly, you can't punish yourself like this, if Vexen truly loved you then he'd forgive you right?" 

"I guess…" Marly whispered. 

"Then you need to go and ask for his forgiveness hun, you love him too don't you?" she asked softly. Marluxia nodded again, looking away and blushing. 

"A little," he murmured. Tobi couldn't help but smile again. They sat there in silence for a moment, Tobi gently caressing his wet hair and Marly enjoying the motherly touch she possessed. She reminded him of his grandmother sometimes, the way she laughed and smiled, a gently touch on his head. As the rain continued to fall he continued to enjoy the comfort of friendship. 

-----

It had been two weeks since Marly had thrown him out of the flower shop and since then Vexen had returned to work, cold and distant as ever from his employees and partners. He savagely pursued the new project and ground had already been broken a month ahead of schedule. While he insisted that every precaution be taken to ensure the safety of the crew and the build; he was pursuing it with relentless commitment.

He'd done all his crying that night in the rain and after a few nights in bed with a fever he figured that the best way to forget Marluxia was to simply work him out of his system. He didn't think about him, he didn't talk about him and he certainly tried not to dream about him. 

Today he was meeting with several of his contractors and partners to finalize the plans for the building. It was quite important that he be here. He felt though that he really should sign the company over some time soon and just take his money and become a hermit. To think that he would ever feel that miserable. 

As he and his group waked through the lobby of the office building they worked out of he couldn't help but hear the commotion at the front desk, he froze however when he saw who was in the middle of it. 

"No I don't have an appointment but just tell him that Marluxia LeVine is here to see him! He knows me!" he shouted at the secretary.

"I'm sure he does sir, but he's in an important meeting and I'm afraid that even if you did have an appointment you are inappropriately dressed for this company!" she snapped. It was true; Marly was in his usual dirty jeans and t-shirt. His pink hair was pulled back as always and his shoes had tracked mud across the tiled floor. 

"You don't understand!" he shouted as security came up and grabbed him. Vexen had to stop himself from shouting out, he could stop all this so easily but part of him wanted to see Marluxia suffer as he had.

"Vexen!" Shit! He'd been spotted. He turned and glared coldly at Marluxia. 

"Vexen I'm sorry, I was wrong! Let me go asshole!" he shouted at the guard as he struggled to get away. "I was scared about my feelings because of my last relationship, I know that's stupid but I thought it would be easier to say that I hate you but it's not because-!" here he was wrenched to the side and had to struggle to keep his balance as the guards attempted to toss him out. "I love you too Vexen!" and with that the guards succeeded in tossing him out of the building into a puddle of water.

Vexen stared out the glass door as Marly slowly climbed to his feet and flung water off his hands. He stared at the building for a moment as if Vexen would come bursting out of it, professing his love. Two minutes passed with them both standing there and finally Marluxia's shoulders dropped and he walked away. 

"Anyway Vexen as I was saying-," his partner was continuing when Vexen shook himself out of his stupor and faced him.

"I can't…I can't do this today, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he said softly as he then bolted out the door after Marluxia. He didn't know if he was happy or stupid but he knew he needed to reach Marluxia. But as he caught sight of the man he realized that he suddenly wasn't alone and in fact was arguing with another man.

-----

The last thing Marluxia expected after this humiliating defeat was to run into his ex-boyfriend. "Jack!" Marly's voice quivered as the taller, darker man approached him. 

"Marly baby! I've been looking everywhere for you!" he grinned as he pinned the hapless smaller man against the wall. "Come on baby don't be shy, I missed you," Jack whispered against his ear as his hand rubbed against his thigh. 

"Shut up! I don't want you anymore!" Marly shoved him away. 

"Oh Marly baby you wound me, you know no one else will love you like I do, just come with me and I'll be good to you!" he cajoled.

"No! I…" his breath hitched in his chest, Vexen hated him now and he probably wasn't going to find anyone else that made him feel the way that Vexen did. It was true, it really was, he was useless and stupid and dumb. He took a tentative step forward towards Jack, not really paying attention anymore, he was trying too hard to keep the tears from coming back. But then something happened, something wonderful and unexpected.

He felt a cold hand cover his eyes and he was pressed back against a firm chest. 

"What the hell is your problem old man?" Jack shouted. 

"My problem is that you're harassing my boyfriend, get the fuck away," Vexen's voice rumbled behind him. 

"Tshk, you can have him, he's worthless anyway," Jack snapped as he walked away. Vexen lowered his hand and Marly turned on him. 

"You asshole! What was that all about!" he cried before hugging him tightly. Vexen couldn't help it, he laughed. He had finally confirmed what it was about Marly that attracted him. Despite the harsh words and the body language his actions always contradicted him. Hugging him when he was mad, leaving pastry's for him so he wouldn't be hungry, he really was very sweet.

"I hate you!" Marly wailed.

"No you don't…you told everyone you loved me," he murmured as he hugged him back. 

"It was a moment on insanity!" he continued to argue when they finally let go. 

"Shut up Marly," Vexen smirked as he kissed the shorter man lightly on the lips. Marly blushed so bright red that Vexen couldn't help but laugh his ass off as they strolled down the street, hand in hand.

-----

A week later Vexen signed over his company to his partner and took his fair share of the company profits, though he was still paid a high monthly salary to be an advisor of sorts. He bought a new condo for him and Marly, just up the street from the flower shop and decorated it as well. As per Marly's rule there were flowers and plants everywhere and Vexen had to wonder every day he came home if he was walking into an upscale apartment or a jungle. 

Businesses continued to flock to 7th Street and it once again became a bustling community. Petals's sales increased almost overnight as storeowners demanded fresh flowers every day and their customers in turn demanded the same. Marly was able to hire more help and Vexen took care of the company accounts to make sure they were actually making a profit. And every night the two of them would leave the shop, hand in hand and laughing together. 

-----

Tobi sighed as she watched Marluxia and Vexen walk away together. She put her hand on her growing tummy and looked down at King Mickey. "See? I told you it'd be fine!" she smiled.

"I still don't understand it, you'd think they'd still be you know…bad…"the mouse king commented in his high voice. 

"See you're just as bad as the other's! You think that just because someone is bad once they'll be bad again in another life. Besides it was my choice to give them hearts and I think I made the right choice!" she nodded purposefully.

"Well, alright…I have to get going, lots of meetings, I just wanted to see how things were going here!" the mouse chimed as he waved goodbye to Tobi and took off. She sighed and caressed her stomach, she'd be a mother soon, oh how exciting! Xaldin was back at the bookstore packing things away; they'd be going back to the Labyrinth soon to see how things were doing with the whole Myde and Xemnas situation. 

As she readied herself to finally get going she heard a shy chirp from the shadows. "Oh! There you are, I've been looking for you, but here you've found me!" she smiled as the tiny shadow slunk away from the darkness and approached her. He seemed unsure of himself and chirped again. 

"I won't hurt you, come here!" she beckoned the tiny thing. The shadow slowly but gently climbed up her leg and over her stomach, resting there as she came to hold it. "There now, I know what you want, but I have to do something first." She whispered as she touched her chest and withdrew a small crystal ball with a small floating heart inside of it. 

"Saix, The Lunar Diviner because you killed my mother I still feel some enmity towards you, however if it hadn't been for you and the others I would have never been on my adventures and many lovers would not have been reunited, so in the end your actions forgive themselves. However to exact my revenge, slight as it is I curse you to remain in animal form until such time comes that you fall in love and the full moon touches you." With those words she gave the tiny crystal ball to the heartless shadow and watched as it swallowed it and squeaked. There was a soft flash of light and Tobi felt the weight change as it became a creature unknown to this world. 

"What's that?" Xaldin demanded as he met her halfway from the shop. 

"It's a Fidofel, I'm going to give it to Tulla!" Tobi smiled as she cradled the sleeping pup. 

"What the hell is a Fidofel?" he demaded

"The simplest explanation would be to say that it's a mix of a dog and cat. It has a dog like body but cat ears and tail, it also purrs when it's happy, they can grow to be quite large, they're everywhere in the Labryinth."

"Then what is it doing here?" Xaldin asked, feeling he knew the answer already. 

"It's a special Fidofel," she informed her husband. "Are we ready to go?" she asked smiling. 

"Yeah we're ready. Do you think Marly and Vexen will be alright?" he asked worriedly. 

"They'll be fine, I'm sure of it!" Tobi grinned as they headed back home.


End file.
